Operation Green Panda: HK trip and notes to self 1

I just got back from a two-day trip to Hong Kong and for the first time, I was part of the hustle-bustle around a city. We would start around 9 or 10am and go until 10 or 11pm just running around from meeting to meeting or visiting sites for ... I finally arrived at the hotel close to 11pm on Thursday and assumed the hotel was prepaid, but it was just a reservation, which is fine. I whip out my credit card, which was denied (I later find out that there was a hold on it). ...